Essay Business School Sample

A soldier who served on the front lines in Afghanistan. A process engineer challenged by a long series of early failures. And a female consultant whose passion became healthcare.

Three MBA applicants to Harvard Business School last year. Three students in the newest crop of MBA students at Harvard this fall. All of them answered the question now being asked of 2017-2018 applicants to Harvard: As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program?

The school provides minimal guidance for applicants trying to make an impression. “There is no word limit for this question,” advises HBS admissions. “We think you know what guidance we’re going to give here. Don’t over think, overcraft and overwrite. Just answer the question in clear language that those of us who don’t know your world can understand.”

Each of the three applicants above wrote a clear and compelling essay in their applications, essays that Poets&Quants is reprinting with permission from the MBA Essay Guide Summer 2017 Edition recently published by The Harbus, the MBA student newspaper at Harvard Business School. The guide contains 39 essays written by successful candidates who are now starting the MBA program at HBS. Proceeds from the sale of the guidebook go to benefit the non-profit foundation that supports The Harbus.

With application deadlines rapidly approaching at Harvard Business School and many other prestige MBA programs, these successful essays will, no doubt, give current candidates a bit of guidance. More importantly, the essays that follow are most likely to provide comfort, that there is no formula or singular way to craft a successful answer.

THREE SUCCESSFUL ESSAYS. THREE VERY DIFFERENT APPROACHES.

The latest edition of the MBA Essay Guide from The Harbus costs $61.49

In his 1,130-word essay, the U.S. Army applicant ties together his experiences of leading soldiers on the front line in Afghanistan together with staff postings in Army operations and logistics to paint a portrait of a dedicated and people-oriented leader.

Inspired by a selfless act from her nine-year-old mentee, this management consultant decided to challenge herself to make an impact in healthcare. In a 937-word essay, she uses a particularly difficult turnaround situation which she was put in charge of as exemplifying her strongest skills: building relationships and uniting people around a common goal.

In a 1,358-essay, a process engineer opens up to a long series of failures in his early life. By showing both vulnerability and honesty, he is able to transform this list of fruitless endeavors into a credible “badge of honor,” evidence of his resilience, determination and strength of character. It quickly becomes apparent that what appeared to be failures in the first half, actually proved to be successes or openings for new opportunities, given enough time and perseverance.

ONE APPLICANT DID 25 DRAFTS BEFORE COMING UP WITH ONE SHE LIKED ENOUGH TO SUBMIT

Behind every MBA application is a person and a story, and in this trio of representative essays the approaches taken by each candidate is as different as the essays they submitted to the admissions committee at HBS.

The engineer went through took eight drafts over two months. “I thought about what personal traits I wanted to share with the ADCOM and identified stories from my past that identified those traits,” he explains. “After two or three drafts, I’d figured out the right narrative and kept refining it, taking as much as a week to finalize each draft. My best advice is to be honest, start early, and have someone who knows what the ADCOMS are looking for to read through a couple of your drafts and give you pointers.”

The consultant estimates that she went through 25 drafts to get to her final version. “I think the most important thing with the essay is to iterate,” she advises. “Because the question is so open-ended, it is important to reflect as much as possible and give yourself the time (in my case two months) to go on the journey necessary to realize what you care most about communicating and how to do so in the most effective way. I also cannot overstate the importance of finding someone who will give you honest feedback.

(See on the following pages the complete and full MBA essays submitted to Harvard Business School)

Admission Essay & Personal Statement Development Services

Business School / MBA Sample Essays

I have been hoping and planning to earn an MBA for the past six years since graduating from college and am excited to now be on the cusp of making that dream a reality. I’ve come a long way from the painfully shy college freshman who initially could hardly even stomach the thought of being a resident advisor because it would involve so much interaction with students I didn’t yet know. I conquered those first fears and went on to become the Resident Hall Council President and Freshman Orientation Leader...

In my experience one of the best places to learn true leadership skills is on the playing field. There are few situations in this world as intense, fraught with danger, and adrenalin inducing as participating in full-contact competitive sports. I have played soccer in a league for over __ years, and while this pastime is certainly not the focus of my life, the camaraderie and interpersonal skills I have learned from it will last me a lifetime...

I consider myself extremely fortunate to be here in the United States earning my education because I know how easy it would have been for this never to take place. Moving here all by myself from Shanghai to attend college was the most difficult thing I have ever done. I had never been away from my family before, I hadn’t even traveled outside of China prior to this trip, and I knew I was in for a big change...

Question: In 250 words or less, discuss your leadership or managerial style as it plays out in an organizational or group setting.

I have had the good fortune to work on several teams consisting of disparate people in a corporate setting. While many individuals shy away from trying to bring un-like minded people together, I see it as a challenge in which, if handled carefully, everyone can bring something unique to the group that will ultimately help us move the selected project forward in a more complete manner than if we all had similar ideas and styles...

I was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This is the home of my heart even though I relish traveling to other countries and experiencing and learning from other cultures. I am in the United States now in order to further my education, improve my English, and make sure that I have the skills to work effectively with business leaders from everywhere in the world...

I come from a land of unparalleled physical beauty but sadly one that is also still struggling to overcome a strict class system that does not reflect the changing values of today’s Argentine people. I am one of the fortunate ones who has had access to an education and the opportunity to go to college in America, but many in my country are not so lucky...

Lying on my back, looking up at the stars while the camp fire crackles beside me, I can feel the utter peace of the ranch this I have loved since I was a boy. I would say that it would be a paradise to spend the rest of my life trekking through the rugged lands that, even though I have traveled them from my earliest memories on, still hold mysteries and new found beauty every time I come here...

Question: Please describe your experience of working in and leading teams, either in your professional or personal life. Given this experience, what role do you think you will play in your study group, and how do you intend to contribute to it?

Though I have had two work experiences outside of college, one as an accountant and the other as an investment analyst, in which I have had the chance to work on teams, contributing valuable experience and information that has been used to make multimillion dollar decisions, I still think my most vital experience of leadership took place in college simply because it was my greatest challenge to step up and take on a leadership role at that time, whereas in my jobs it was expected and I was prepared to do it...

Question: Student involvement is an extremely important part of the MBA experience and this is reflected in the character of students on campus. What type of student club or campus community event do you envisage yourself initiating? How would you set about organizing this, and how would you communicate it to the wider School community?

Having already learned first had the importance of becoming a part of clubs on campus during my undergraduate years I will most certainly be an active member, and possibly founder, of new ones at ________ University. My transition from Japan to America was made much smoother by my active participation in the Japanese Students Association, and if there is not yet a chapter such as this at ____ University, you can count on me to found it...

Question: Newton’s First Law of Motion states that an object in motion tends to stay in motion in the same direction unless acted upon by an external force. Tell us about an external influence (a person, an event, etc.) that affected you and how it caused you to change direction.

There is no event that has so affected my life trajectory as much as my decision to move to the United States to pursue my education. Prior to making this decision I was living what many would consider a perfectly satisfactory life in Cairo, Egypt. I come from a middle-class family, my parents are educated and kind, and I get along well with my two sisters...